Off Into The Wild, Blue Yonder

February 11, 1997|By Richard Estrada. The Dallas Morning News.

DALLAS — President Clinton's view of the state of the union is far too sanguine by "Ambassador" Richard McLaren's lights. That's because--if McLaren and his "President" Archie Lowe have their way--the United States of America will be losing its second most populous state in the not-too-distant future.

McLaren is the self-styled diplomatic representative and chief spokesman of a group whose name succinctly conveys its political goal: The Republic of Texas seeks nothing less than the independent status Texas enjoyed for nearly a decade leading up to its annexation by the United States in 1845. The group seems to assume that the state's 19 million residents also favor the idea. The Libertarian Party of Texas has long wanted to put the issue of Texas independence to a referendum vote.

Even though expert observers see the Republic of Texas' argument as mischievous and unfounded, the movement is being viewed with concern. Having learned from Waco and Ruby Ridge that ignoring fringe groups can yield tragic consequences, state and federal officials have begun to challenge the group using what might be called low-intensity lawfulness.

What bothers state officials is that the Republic of Texas is promoting its goal through what one lawmaker calls "paper terrorism." The state legislature is considering bills that would crack down on Texas' use of unofficial "common law" court judgments and liens that are bogus. Texas Atty. Gen. Dan Morales says hundreds if not thousands of phony liens have been filed by the group. They are costly to contest and can kill a deal when owners try to sell property.

The mischief has begun to be costly enough that Gov. George W. Bush has seen fit to declare a legislative "emergency." This allows the issue to jump to the head of the legislative queue. One bill that prescribes misdemeanor and felony penalties for filing bogus liens already has been introduced in the state Senate, while the chair of the Texas House judicial affairs committee, Senfronia Thompson, a Houston Democrat, promises that a companion bill will move out of the committee "like greased lightning."

Essentially, the Republic of Texas argues that no legal basis exists for Texas as a state and that state and federal laws are therefore null and void. Professor Gerald Treece disagrees. A scholar at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, Treece says the "Republic's" argument that Texas was illegally annexed by the U.S. in 1845 is moot.

"The problem . . . is that there was something called the Civil War," Treece told The Dallas Morning News recently. "Whatever we were--a territory, an island, a state--we agreed to readmittance to the Union as a state. That's not argument. That's just a fact."

It is only natural to want to sweep the rantings and ravings of marginal political groups under the rug. But Ruby Ridge and Waco argue against that. A failure to address relatively low-level transgressions--discreetly and responsibly, one would hope--can turn a spark into a compound fire. The remaining question is to what degree larger social and economic issues are at play.

The rise of the militias, the Freemen and the Republic of Texas is occurring in the context of a general dissatisfaction with the government. Voter abstention is high and the people decry partisanship. In addition, those in the middle class who feel they are falling behind rather than moving up.

Therein lies the dilemma. "As long as they don't file phony court papers, it's pretty harmless," says state Rep. Will Hartnett. "They're entitled to their 1st Amendment freedom of speech. But they're heading in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, headquartered near Ft. Davis, the Republic of Texas movement is beginning to draw militia support. The question now is whether paper terrorists are necessarily paper tigers. The posting of guards near "Ambassador" McLaren's "embassy" and threats to resist an "invasion" seem to prove that the Republic of Texas has drawn a line in the sand. Local residents are voicing worries over other "militia types" they say are relocating to the area.

"Texas is an independent nation," Republic officials have written. "We will never surrender." The Alamos' defenders couldn't have put it more clearly. And neither, it could be argued, could have David Koresh.